Cedar chest



Oct. 9 1945.

1 c. CROCKER CEDAR CHEST Filed May 26, 1943 .or articles, stored in the receptacles.

fifi liumrcv {S A ES AT N OFFICE},

CEDAR CHEST Ernest C. Crocker, Belmont, Mass, ,assignor, by

mesne assignments, to The Lane Company, Inc., Altavista, Va., a corporation of Virginia r Application May '26, 1943, Serial No. 488,563

2 Claims. (01. 206) This invention relates to improvements in cedar chests and other like receptacles provided -on their interior surfaces, at least, with cedaroil-bearing Wood, andenclosing a'storage space containing an atmosphere laden with cedar aroma. In particular, the invention relates to an improved coating for these interior cedar aroma emanating surfaces.

In the better makes of cedar chests, the atmosphere of the storage space is so heavily laden with cedar aroma that the formation of gummy deposits on the interior surfaces presents a serious problem. These gummy deposits apparently result from the condensation of cedar I aroma upon certain areas and are, of course,

particularly objectionable where they may come in contact with clothing, furs, or other garments V Common focal points or areas for the formation of these deposits are metals such as iron, brass, and, bronze which have been used for the interior hardware- But I have found that the difficulties from this source can be overcome in various ways,

as by u'sing non-catalytic metals for hardware, asset forth in my U. Patent No. 2,023,465.

Other focal points for the deposits, However,

are present in the cedar Wood-itselfparticularly' in the knots and any other more than usually resinous areas. In addition, extraneous oils, resins, lacquers, and other substances with which the cedar wood may come in contactduring fabrication of the receptacles frequently form focal points for the gummy deposits. For example, unless the greatest care is taken during the finishing of the exterior of the receptacles, tiny particles of the finishing materials may enter the interior space and become attached here and there upon the inner walls, thus forming nuclei for gummy areas.

The tendency to form gunmiy deposits is particularly strong during the early life of the receptacles, when the surface flush of aroma is crease the tendency toward formation ofgummy deposits but also correspondingly to increase the I useful life of the receptacles.

-'ent invention has similar objects and is therefore in some respects. an improvement over my patent just referred to. The preferred coating 7 also flammable and hence suitable precautions must be taken in their use. Furthermore, these organic solvents are solvents for the cedar resins, hence at knots and other areas where an excessive amount of resin is present there is a tendency forthe resin to be brought through the 'coating' and act as a focus for gummy deposits. The present invention avoids these drawbacks by the use of a coating, neutral to cedar oil and aroma, which is applicable in an aqueous vehicle. Since water is the volatile vehicle the cost of organic solvents and their inflammability hazards are eliminated and as water is not a solvent for the cedar resins'there is no tendency for these resins to be brought through the coating. The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which the single figure is'a perspective View of a cedar chest with the cover open showing the interior surfaces of the chest and the coating thereon.

The coating, after application and drying and setting must be firmly adherent, non-tacky, and insoluble in cold water. It must be neutral to cedar oil and aroma-i.-e., not conducive to the formation of gummy deposits from such oil and aroma. It must also be sufliciently non-continuous or porous or permeable to allow the cedar aroma to pass through and thus to permit emanation of the aroma. In addition to being cold- Water-insoluble, the coating should also act as a barrier to the passage of the color ingredients of'the cedar wood to articles stored in the receptacle, since moisture causes such passage of color under ordinary conditions if no coating is present. It is also desirable to employ a coating which provides an attractive appearance to the surfaces to which it is applied, and which ing to the degree of polymerization. The difierent polymers are differently soluble in water. For the purposes of the present invention a polymer which is soluble in hot water but insoluble in cold water is preferred because the dried coating is not likely to be removed by any accidental application of hot water. This polyvinyl alcohol may be applied in aqueous solution. It may be colored, applied in various ways, invarious concentrations and to the desired weight of coat- The invention is illustrated by the following specific example:

parts by weight of low viscosity hot-watersoluble cold-water-insoluble polyvinyl alcohol are stirred into 100 parts by weight of cold water. The mixture is allowed to warm up to room temperature and then heated with stirring to 60 to 70 C. As soon as the polyvinyl alcohol has completely dissolved, color and wetting agents are added, for example .05 partby weight of Gardinol W. A. and .025 part by weight of a dye .knownas Rose Pink #201. After cooling to room temperature the resulting solution is applied to theinterior of a cedar chest, 1. e.-to the planed and sanded surfaces of the red cedar wood, and allowed .to dry. When dry the coating has a just visibly glossy sheen which condition has been found to indicate a coating .of-the right porosity to permit a controlled emanation of the cedar aroma. Such :a coating as that described has been found to amountto about .011 ounce per square foot of surface.

Another coating produced by application of a solution similar to that .described in the foregoing example but containing v11.8% by weight of the polyvinyl alcohol was found .to amount to .023 ounce per square foot. This weight of coating also is sufficiently porous to permit cedar aroma emanation. A preferredor optimum coating density is in the vicinity of .02 ounce per square foot but it has been found that the density of useful coatings may vary from about .01 to about .03 and even up to ..05 ounce per square foot. By useful coatings it will, of course, be understood that ,I mean coatings of sufficient weight to appreciably limit or control the initial flush of cedar aroma which voccursduring the early life of .a cedar chest and to prevent the passage of color matter associated with the cedar wood, but insufilcient to reduce the rate of cedar aroma emanation to the point at which it becomes ineffective.

When the coating is to be applied by spraying instead of by means of a brush, the solution should be sufficiently more dilute to allow for the evaporation of solvent (water) which occurs during spraying. A plurality of coatings may be applied by either coating or spraying, if desired.

It will be appreciated that the dye or wetting agent or both may be omitted from the coating composition and that various other dyes and wetting agents may be substituted for those named in the foregoing specific example. The coating composition may also contain other suitable additions such as plasticizers or thickening agents for controlling the consistency of the coating composition. The dye or color is, of course, added for the purpose of improving the appearance of the coatings and the wetting agent is added for the purposes of securing a more uniform coating and particularly for promoting the wetting of surfaces such as oily knots in wood.

This is a continuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 343,903, filed July 3, 1940, now Patent No. 2,327,871, August 24, 1943.

taining from .01 to .10 ounces of the alcohol per square foot of surface.

2. Method of controlling the rate of emanation of cedar aroma from and preventing the formation of gummy deposits upon the inner cedar aroma emanating surfaces of receptacles having inner surfaces made of cedar oil-bearing wood which comprises coating such surfaces with an aqueous solution of a 'hot-water-soluble coldwater-insoluble polyvinyl alcohol, the concentration of the solution and the quantity thereof applied being such as to deposit from .01 to .10

ounce of the polyvinyl alcohol per square foot of surface, and drying the surface.

ERNEST C. CROCKER. 

